Stitching dreams: Women empowered through tailoring, knitting programme

Under the service sector component of the Himachal Pradesh Crop Diversification Promotion Project (HPCDPP), supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), 19 women from various villages in the Jawali Assembly constituency are undergoing a tailoring and knitting course at the Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI), Jawali.

The training, aimed at women empowerment and livelihood generation, seeks to enhance participants’ skills in tailoring and knitting while promoting self-employment opportunities. The course combines both theoretical and practical sessions, covering garment stitching, design and knitting techniques. The required raw materials are being provided by the ITI, Jawali. Upon successful completion, participants will receive certificates from the institute.

The beneficiaries belong to farming families from Banolli, Manbhari, Dhan, Chaubuan and Thanger gram panchayats in the Jawali constituency.

According to Lakshit Chaudhary, Block Project Manager, JICA Phase-II, the training is part of the service sector initiative under the HPCDPP, which is implemented by the state government with Official Development Assistance (ODA) from Japan. The broader objective of the project is to encourage farmers to diversify from traditional cereal-based farming to more profitable, market-oriented and high-value crops.

Under the JICA Phase-II, emphasis is being laid on infrastructure development, farmer support, value chain and market development and institutional strengthening.